chickens, horses and now we even have two cows. So you’ll feel totally at home on our ranch.”
Sophie swallowed a chuckle. She hadn’t spent one day of her life on a ranch. “It sounds fabulous. How did you do it?”
“Trust me, it wasn’t easy and it’s taken months, but my husband seems happier, so that makes me happy. The only thing that would please him more is if Chantaine had a semi-professional baseball team. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Where are you from?” Eve asked, shifting her weight as if she were uncomfortable. Sophie felt sorry for the woman. She was probably always uncomfortable at this stage of her pregnancy.
“The Washington, D.C., area,” she said.
Eve blinked then snickered. “Sophie is from the city, Bridget. Not everyone from America is from Texas.”
Bridget frowned for a moment then her face brightened. “No problem. Perhaps Sophie and I could take a quick trip to Paris and we could visit Fredericka, one of our sisters.”
Both Pippa and Eve gave loud sounds of disapproval. “Not before we deliver,” Eve said. “If we’re trapped here on the island, then you have to stay, too.”
“Trapped in paradise?” Bridget echoed with a cheeky smile. “Who would possibly call it trapped?”
“You’re the one taking off for Italy and France every chance you get. You just wait until you get pregnant and your husband gets all protective of you,” Eve said. “You’ll be singing a different song.”
“With twin toddlers, I won’t be getting pregnant anytime soon,” Bridget promised.
Pippa glanced at Sophie. “We must stop with all this baby talk. We’re probably boring our guest to death.”
“Oh, no,” Sophie said. “It’s a nice change from discussions about rocks and engineering.”
“From what Max has said, it sounds as if he does a lot of traveling,” Eve said. “Do you enjoy it?”
“For the most part, I do,” Sophie said. “It’s fascinating to see places that were just spots on a map to me. But all this travel prevents me from getting a dog.”
Bridget nodded. “My husband feels the same way. A dog is next on our list as soon as the boys are toilet trained.”
More courses of fruits and sweets were served. After a while of chatting and giggling, the man who’d been standing by the door the entire time walked toward Eve and spoke to her in a low voice. Eve nodded. “Thank you. I asked Walter to remind me when Stephenia is supposed to wake up from her nap. I promised her a trip to the playground. She’s missing the boys since you moved out.”
“I’ll bring them soon,” Bridget said. “I’ve just wanted them to get adjusted to the ranch.”
Bridget said it with such irony that Sophie couldn’t conceal a chuckle.
Eve rose. “We must do this again.”
Bridget nodded. “Or better yet, let’s do lunch and shop.”
“I’ll agree to lunch, but no shopping for me,” Eve said.
“Same here,” Pippa said as the rest of them rose to their feet.
“Thank you so much for inviting me. I didn’t know what to expect, but I have to say this is the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Sophie said, surprising herself a little with the realization.
The chauffeur met her at the palace door and drove her back to her apartment. It occurred to Sophie as the car wove through the picturesque streets that she’d been spending a lot of time working and hardly any time enjoying herself. For what reason? So she could be close to Max. Because she was still hoping he would notice her and fall madly in love with her.
Sophie caught a glimpse of the ocean and realized that she hadn’t gone to the beach once since she’d arrived in Chantaine. Irritation niggled through her. Why was she staying with Max until the wee hours of the night if he wasn’t going to notice her? It wasn’t as if they accomplished much after dinnertime anyway.
She’d recently been reading a self-help book a coworker from Australia had given her for Christmas. The book had supplied a quote that was sticking, annoyingly, in her head. If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.
Sophie frowned. What she’d gotten the last few years had been an adventurous job with great pay and an unrequited crush on Max. And no dog.
Sophie brooded over that for several moments.
The chauffeur surprised her, opening the door. “Miss?”
She hadn’t even noticed the car had stopped. “Yes. Thank you for the ride.”
“My pleasure,” he said and helped her out of the car. That was nice, she thought. Someone treating her like a woman.
Sophie cringed. Someone paid to treat her like a woman.
Okay, that was it. She needed to think about doing something different. Sophie took a deep breath. Sophie looked at her apartment then turned away. She needed a night out.
She meandered in a few shops until they closed then walked to a café, got a sandwich and did some people-watching. All the while, she found herself second-guessing her decision to come to Chantaine. Maybe she should have refused Max. What would have happened if she had? What would she be doing now?
Sighing, Sophie wandered out of the shop and stopped at the crosswalk to walk the few blocks to her apartment. She waited until the light signaled that she could cross and stepped off of the curb.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a cute bright yellow scooter whizzing around the corner just before it sent her flying through the air.
Later, hours, was it days? Sophie awakened to a blurry sight in front of her.
“Sophie,” Max said. “Sophie, it’s me, Max. How are you?”
She opened her mouth, but her throat felt so dry. She made a croaking sound.
“Thank God,” he muttered. She felt his hand on hers.
“Max,” she whispered, but her head throbbed. “What happened?”
“A scooter ran into you,” he said.
She took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. A vague visual of a scooter rounding a corner crossed her mind. “Oh, yeah.”
“You remember?”
She nodded. “I was walking the crosswalk and the scooter came out of nowhere. Am I okay?”
He squeezed her hand. “Yeah, you’re fine. Just rest.”
Sophie awakened later. She wasn’t sure when, but the nurse met her gaze. “How are you, sweetie?” she said. “You’ve had a rough go of it.”
“Are
